Steam Deck might be using a company’s concept for a fanless solid-state cooling system sooner!
It appears that a new fanless solid-state cooling system could be coming to Steam Deck. While piezoelectric fans aren’t exactly new, their potential use in mobile computers is interesting because of their flat design.
Steam Deck reviews of its built-in fans
After the release of the Steam Deck, many complain about the product’s aggressive fan curves. This causes the device to make an annoying, high-pitched whine in certain situations. Though Valve ultimately adjusted the fan curve and alleviated the issues to great effect, a newcomer to the cooling tech segment claims a solution that could give a capable alternative to traditional heat dissipation systems utilized in portable electronic devices.
At CES this year, Frore Systems showed off a piezoelectric fan made entirely of solid-state components. However, Frore Systems’ AirJet and AirJet Mini coolers sounded fascinating on their own. Notably, they depict what is unmistakably a representation of Valve’s incredibly popular Steam Deck. Moreover, they make specific reference to “Hand Held Gaming Devices” that maintain 15 watts of computing power. The accompanying documentation suggests that the solid-state fan in the Frore Systems can easily handle the Deck’s heat output while also drastically cutting the device’s noise output.
What are piezoelectric fans, anyway?
Piezoelectric cooling systems attach a tiny, quickly spinning blade to distribute the cooled air across the space. While they haven’t been able to beat out traditional fan-based cooling platforms in terms of raw performance, they are much more reliable in hostile conditions. Though its usefulness is not ignorable, the cooling possibilities of this technology are intriguing, and Frore Systems is the first business to implement it in a new piece of consumer-grade gaming hardware.
Frore Systems’ designs imply that adding one of the company’s coolers shouldn’t be too difficult, even though piezoelectric fans won’t be in the Steam Deck’s next official update.
In fact, Frore Systems’ solid-state coolers have yet to prove they can solve heat dispersion. Without seeing the system in operation, it’s hard to see how it’s superior to coolers with fans. If Frore Systems is correct, these new coolers may improve Steam Deck performance during heat waves.
On a side note, JSAUX also developed its first transparent shell replacement for Steam Deck.
